KINGSTON, N.Y. — An Ulster County jury has awarded a former Orange County woman $31 million in damages, her attorney, Andrew Finkelstein, said Tuesday, March 18.
“A jury in Kingston heard the case and voted for a verdict of $31 million,” Finkelstein said in a phone interview. He said Supreme Court Judge Richard Mott, who presided at the trial, told him the award was the largest for a car crash case ever in county history.
Prior to trial, he said his client, Kelly Burley, had been offered a $10 million settlement.
The ruling was handed down on Friday, March 14, in Ulster County Supreme Court, following a two-week trial. Eight expert witnesses in addition to the victim, her parents, and police testified, Finkelstein said. After his cross-examination Finkelstein said, expert witnesses on both sides agreed that Arnoff was responsible.
On June 11, 2019, Burley, now 41, was eastbound in a 2012 Honda on the Mid-Hudson Bridge in Lloyd when she was rear-ended by an Arnoff Moving & Storage 2016 International truck driven by a company employee. At the time of the crash, Burley lived in Newburgh and was on her way to visit a friend in Dutchess County, Finkelstein said.
The truck was leased from Ryder Truck Rental, which was not found responsible for the crash, Finkelstein said.